10 days ago DH and I cranked our sleep-crusted eyes open at the crack of oh-dark-thirty (aka 3:30 freakin' AM) and made our weary way to the airport for a 6:30 flight. 8 hours later - we were in Antigua doing our best to relax and recover and drink our stresses into submission.
1 nasty cleavage sunburn and 20 sandy toes later: mission accomplished.
I'll admit, it was hard to walk out the door of Little One's room after putting her to bed the night before we left, but I'm so glad we decided to go for 9 nights at an all-inclusive resort where the biggest decision we had to make all day was where to go for dinner. No errands, no work crap, just DH and me enjoying each other (yes, that way too, you nosy parkers!). After 10 years of marriage, it was nice to find that we still like each other when there are no other distractions.
Oh, and I found out on our last full day...that I like paddle boarding. Me, who never exercises if I can help it, likes an athletic activity. Go figure. We checked out the pic's taken by the resort photographer of our return (actually only my return, since DH came in farther away from the photographer) and there was serious joy on my face. Well, what you could see of my face - the pictures were a little too dark to purchase.
We made some new friends, we swam in the ocean, we laid by the pool; we ate and drank on a more than regular basis. (Ok, that was just me as well - apparently eating and eating and eating and drinking and drinking and drinking with turning over and making my way to the bar on a regular basis as my major activities allow the pounds to resettle where they had so recently departed. But not back to my boobs - what's up with that?)
The return trip was more gristly. We left the resort at 11AM (I'd been up since 6:15ish since I apparently have lost the ability to sleep later than 7 even on vacation - but that meant a last few hours of pool and sun before we had to leave) and didn't get home until around 1:30AM, and into bed at 2AM. Part of that was thanks to a detour for a late-night stop at IHOP* for sustenance on the way home, but what really took so long was a lay-over at Newark airport ('where hope goes to die' really should be it's slogan) which was extended by a late arrival by the plane needed to get us to the local airport.
5 hours later I was awake for the day, 11 hours later Little One was returned to us by the in-laws, and I'm pretty sure once I eat dinner tonight I'll be done for the day.
With over 250 posts still in my reader, it's going to take a bit for me to catch up...I'm hoping all the news has been good for everyone!
*Where we got our meal for free thanks to our waitress apparently imagining that she had taken our order and turned it in and thus ignoring us on her next 10 trips into the dining room. We tipped the off-duty waitress who actually took our order and entered it into the system and the cook who both seated us and found the other waitress to take our order.
Showing posts with label free stuff. Show all posts
Showing posts with label free stuff. Show all posts
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Coupon Geeking
So, we went to Target yesterday. Me with a shopping list based on items we use for which I had coupons, Little One with a snack cup full of crunchies (cheerios, puffs, etc.).
Score of the day: 4 packs of Schick Quattro disposable razors (usually a 3 pack, but these had a bonus fourth razor). I had two "buy one get one free" coupons, so I got two of the packs for free, but on top of that, Target was running a "buy 2 get a $5 gift card" promo, so I also walked out with 2 $5 gift cards.
So, essentially, I paid a little over $3 for 16 disposable razors which would have cost me over $26 without the coupons or gift cards.
How sweet is that?
Score of the day: 4 packs of Schick Quattro disposable razors (usually a 3 pack, but these had a bonus fourth razor). I had two "buy one get one free" coupons, so I got two of the packs for free, but on top of that, Target was running a "buy 2 get a $5 gift card" promo, so I also walked out with 2 $5 gift cards.
So, essentially, I paid a little over $3 for 16 disposable razors which would have cost me over $26 without the coupons or gift cards.
How sweet is that?
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Busy Saturday
Saturday was a busy day. It started with the alarm going off at the regular time, intentionally, because we were participating in the biennial neighborhood yard sale and had to be at the location around 7AM to unload and set up our table before the 8AM start. Planning ahead meant that everything except chairs, drinks, snacks, and the money box had been priced earlier in the week and packed up the night before.
(We also woke up to a large limb down off a tree thanks to a nasty overnight storm - right where the Tahoe had been when we were packing it up with the items we had stored in the basement. Thank goodness DH had decided to move it back into the garage instead of being lazy and leaving it where it was for the night! Otherwise we probably would missed the yard sale, for the 2nd time in a row and all the items we had packed up would have been donated directly to one of the local charity shops in the coming week.)
The yard sale went pretty well, the weather was beautiful after the night's storm and I was grateful to have slathered myself with sunscreen as I would have been crispy without it! It would have been nice to make more, but we managed to get $ for the majority of the items we had taken, which means only that we had priced everything to sell, and not to get the value out of the items. The organizers had also arranged to have one of the local charity shops come do a pickup of any items people wanted to leave so the majority of what we had left went that direction. We did end up keeping a few items which had some possible remaining use to us, and don't take up too much room. We also came back with a few items which were left over at the table next to us; things like a infant tub, bouncy seat and mirror for the back seat of the vehicle so you can see the rear facing infant by looking into your rear-view mirror. It was very kind of them to give those items to us, even after we offered to give them some $ in return.
After returning home and eating lunch, DH took a long nap and I hit the Babies R Us web-site to start filling out the online registry. It's amazing how there is so little similarity in items carried between Target, Babies R Us, and even Amazon. I know there are duplicates on all 3 lists, but I'd rather have to do returns/exchanges then not have something on one of the lists in the event that someone only looks at the list for one store. (Does that make me greedy, I hope not!)
Once DH got up, we headed to a Babies R Us in person to look at the gliders. Maybe I just have extraordinarily short legs but the majority of the seats were either too deep or too tall for me to comfortably have my feet fully touch the floor while either gliding or trying to get up. And many of the seats just didn't seem that comfortable, even granted that they have been beat the hell up by being in-store models. So, given our predilection to pick the most expensive items, even when we are trying to keep our minds open, guess which model glider and ottoman it appears we will be purchasing? At least there's a 20% off in-store sale going on which makes it a bit more palatable. And the in-laws have said they would buy the glider for us, which we're going to accept but offer to chip in some of the cost because the one we picked out is so much more costly than the average set.
I had thought while we were at Babies R Us we could do some of the in-store registry, but then I realized I have a coupon to receive a $15 gift card when establishing an in-store registry which isn't valid until 5/31, so that got nixed. But we did wander around some and I was able to show DH and see in person for myself the Fisher-Price Newborn Rock & Play Sleeper which I'd seen good reviews on and was intriguing me as DH suffers from both reflux and irritable bowel, neither of which I hope get passed on, but if they do, this should be a good early days solution. Either way, it's a reasonably sized sleeper for the first couple of months to keep in the bedroom next to the bed. I wasn't sure how DH was going to feel about it, but he agreed, so on the registry it will go!
On the way home we hit Golden Corral for dinner because I'd been thinking about their fried baby shrimp and fried clam strips for a while. And their rolls are worth the price of admission. But guess which two items they did not have on the buffet?!? Of course. So while I still managed to stuff myself, it wasn't exactly the meal I had imagined. And DH was further disappointed by the quality of their steaks (what can you expect for a buffet?), but we both remember when you ordered your cut of steak and done-ness level when you paid for your meal and the servers brought it to your table. Or you could just get the buffet. At least we know that their rolls can be bought by the dozen, so I may just be doing that the next time DH really wants some. And we'll have to find another place which can satisfy my fried seafood likes while also having food which DH will enjoy since it doesn't appear that Golden Corral will be on our attendance list for a good long time, if ever.
Today has some of it's own busyness, but even given our both waking up without the alarm, but again at the time it usually goes off, we will definitely make more time for relaxation!
(We also woke up to a large limb down off a tree thanks to a nasty overnight storm - right where the Tahoe had been when we were packing it up with the items we had stored in the basement. Thank goodness DH had decided to move it back into the garage instead of being lazy and leaving it where it was for the night! Otherwise we probably would missed the yard sale, for the 2nd time in a row and all the items we had packed up would have been donated directly to one of the local charity shops in the coming week.)
The yard sale went pretty well, the weather was beautiful after the night's storm and I was grateful to have slathered myself with sunscreen as I would have been crispy without it! It would have been nice to make more, but we managed to get $ for the majority of the items we had taken, which means only that we had priced everything to sell, and not to get the value out of the items. The organizers had also arranged to have one of the local charity shops come do a pickup of any items people wanted to leave so the majority of what we had left went that direction. We did end up keeping a few items which had some possible remaining use to us, and don't take up too much room. We also came back with a few items which were left over at the table next to us; things like a infant tub, bouncy seat and mirror for the back seat of the vehicle so you can see the rear facing infant by looking into your rear-view mirror. It was very kind of them to give those items to us, even after we offered to give them some $ in return.
After returning home and eating lunch, DH took a long nap and I hit the Babies R Us web-site to start filling out the online registry. It's amazing how there is so little similarity in items carried between Target, Babies R Us, and even Amazon. I know there are duplicates on all 3 lists, but I'd rather have to do returns/exchanges then not have something on one of the lists in the event that someone only looks at the list for one store. (Does that make me greedy, I hope not!)
Once DH got up, we headed to a Babies R Us in person to look at the gliders. Maybe I just have extraordinarily short legs but the majority of the seats were either too deep or too tall for me to comfortably have my feet fully touch the floor while either gliding or trying to get up. And many of the seats just didn't seem that comfortable, even granted that they have been beat the hell up by being in-store models. So, given our predilection to pick the most expensive items, even when we are trying to keep our minds open, guess which model glider and ottoman it appears we will be purchasing? At least there's a 20% off in-store sale going on which makes it a bit more palatable. And the in-laws have said they would buy the glider for us, which we're going to accept but offer to chip in some of the cost because the one we picked out is so much more costly than the average set.
I had thought while we were at Babies R Us we could do some of the in-store registry, but then I realized I have a coupon to receive a $15 gift card when establishing an in-store registry which isn't valid until 5/31, so that got nixed. But we did wander around some and I was able to show DH and see in person for myself the Fisher-Price Newborn Rock & Play Sleeper which I'd seen good reviews on and was intriguing me as DH suffers from both reflux and irritable bowel, neither of which I hope get passed on, but if they do, this should be a good early days solution. Either way, it's a reasonably sized sleeper for the first couple of months to keep in the bedroom next to the bed. I wasn't sure how DH was going to feel about it, but he agreed, so on the registry it will go!
On the way home we hit Golden Corral for dinner because I'd been thinking about their fried baby shrimp and fried clam strips for a while. And their rolls are worth the price of admission. But guess which two items they did not have on the buffet?!? Of course. So while I still managed to stuff myself, it wasn't exactly the meal I had imagined. And DH was further disappointed by the quality of their steaks (what can you expect for a buffet?), but we both remember when you ordered your cut of steak and done-ness level when you paid for your meal and the servers brought it to your table. Or you could just get the buffet. At least we know that their rolls can be bought by the dozen, so I may just be doing that the next time DH really wants some. And we'll have to find another place which can satisfy my fried seafood likes while also having food which DH will enjoy since it doesn't appear that Golden Corral will be on our attendance list for a good long time, if ever.
Today has some of it's own busyness, but even given our both waking up without the alarm, but again at the time it usually goes off, we will definitely make more time for relaxation!
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
(Mostly) Guilt Free Shopping Trip
Around 11:30 this morning I said "screw it, I'm getting out of the office." Normally I am a little hermit, I scurry into the office in the morning around 8:30 or so and don't leave again, even for lunch, until 4pm.
BUT, I had a rebate card that was about to expire at Staples, and a cash card (I'm not sure where that one came from) for Staples, and needed to get stamps for work (none of those new-fangled in-office postage meters for us!), plus make a bank deposit that had been sitting around for a few more days than it should have.
AND I needed to swing by the library to return some about to be overdue books (and pick up some new ones), and had one of those free panty/$10 off a bra offers that come in the mail and another offer that came in via email for a free lip gloss with bra fitting offer from Victoria's Secret. The panty offer was about to expire, and who would turn down a free pair of those, and a free lip gloss? Not me!
It just so happens that I could work my errands into the office errands in the following order: work/personal/work/personal/work. Seriously, that's how conveniently the Post Office, library, stores and bank are located. Add in the dual entrances to the subdivision and I made a complete loop without any odd side trips. (Maybe I'm weird but I love when I can make a loop and don't have a pipe shaped trip. Or maybe there's a little OCD in me?)
As a trip, it was very successful. Sure, there were issues, including a more screwed up than usual system at the Post Office and Staples not putting inventory where I think it should be; but there also wasn't a line at the library and the sales people at Vickie's actually knew what they were doing and were helpful.*
Because I was combining errands, I didn't feel guilty about not getting back to the office exactly "on time" so I wasn't frustrated with any of the issues like I would be if I had attempted to run both personal errands during one normal lunch hour. I figure if I'm running company errands in my personal vehicle, all time I spend on the road is applied to the company and it's only the time I spend on personal shopping that counts towards the hour, and between the library and Vickie's I just about used it up.
*I haven't bought a bra at Vickie's for a long time because those two properties were lacking - also because they didn't carry my size in the store. It was nice to find all three reasons for not shopping there have changed (at least for today's visit) and I found a bra which might become my next favorite style for every day wear (Body By Victoria - Full Coverage). (I have to brag, I got a free pair of panties, a free lip gloss, and $10 off a bra - which means I spent about $32 for $59 worth of merchandise. Sweet! So no guilt there either.)
BUT, I had a rebate card that was about to expire at Staples, and a cash card (I'm not sure where that one came from) for Staples, and needed to get stamps for work (none of those new-fangled in-office postage meters for us!), plus make a bank deposit that had been sitting around for a few more days than it should have.
AND I needed to swing by the library to return some about to be overdue books (and pick up some new ones), and had one of those free panty/$10 off a bra offers that come in the mail and another offer that came in via email for a free lip gloss with bra fitting offer from Victoria's Secret. The panty offer was about to expire, and who would turn down a free pair of those, and a free lip gloss? Not me!
It just so happens that I could work my errands into the office errands in the following order: work/personal/work/personal/work. Seriously, that's how conveniently the Post Office, library, stores and bank are located. Add in the dual entrances to the subdivision and I made a complete loop without any odd side trips. (Maybe I'm weird but I love when I can make a loop and don't have a pipe shaped trip. Or maybe there's a little OCD in me?)
As a trip, it was very successful. Sure, there were issues, including a more screwed up than usual system at the Post Office and Staples not putting inventory where I think it should be; but there also wasn't a line at the library and the sales people at Vickie's actually knew what they were doing and were helpful.*
Because I was combining errands, I didn't feel guilty about not getting back to the office exactly "on time" so I wasn't frustrated with any of the issues like I would be if I had attempted to run both personal errands during one normal lunch hour. I figure if I'm running company errands in my personal vehicle, all time I spend on the road is applied to the company and it's only the time I spend on personal shopping that counts towards the hour, and between the library and Vickie's I just about used it up.
*I haven't bought a bra at Vickie's for a long time because those two properties were lacking - also because they didn't carry my size in the store. It was nice to find all three reasons for not shopping there have changed (at least for today's visit) and I found a bra which might become my next favorite style for every day wear (Body By Victoria - Full Coverage). (I have to brag, I got a free pair of panties, a free lip gloss, and $10 off a bra - which means I spent about $32 for $59 worth of merchandise. Sweet! So no guilt there either.)
Monday, April 20, 2009
What just happened here?
Have you ever had a perplexing issue that isn't life changing but still captures your attention until poof!, one day it's no longer an issue and you aren't sure what happened to make it go away?
Blowing out the tire on my car* caused the sensor for the tire-pressure system to activate and light the symbol on the dash. It's a cryptic thing - like two book ended parenthesis with a squiggly line under a circle sitting between them - with a steady orange light telling me hey dummy, pay attention, I've got an issue you need to deal with ASAP.
After the spare tire was installed by the roadside assistance guy, I followed the reset instructions in the manual and after 15-17 highway miles, it came back on. Same thing after the replacement tire was installed on the original rim at the shop.** That time it didn't come back on until my morning commute - but only because I had to run some errands and took back roads home instead of the highway. That day I went back to the shop and they checked the tire pressure to confirm it was okay, and reset the button, you know, just in case I hadn't been able to properly follow directions.
That stubborn light kept coming on, and stayed on once I stopped making an effort to reset it. It was like that little boy who cried wolf, I finally just stopped paying attention to it. After a couple of weeks, I got fed up and called the shop to make an appointment to have a trained monkey (no offense to any mechanics or relatives of mechanics who may be out there; I personally am a lab rat when it comes to auto maintenance) take a look at it on Friday.
With one thing and another, although I had my car at the shop before 8AM on Friday, the only mechanic at the shop with electrical training didn't get to looking at my car until the afternoon. Frustrating, right? Apparently he didn't have time to really get into more than running the system diagnostic a couple of times to the same result: no codes popped up to tell him what was going on.
Since I wanted the car over the weekend, and more importantly didn't have a ride home, I picked the car up from the shop and drove home, with plans to return it first thing Monday (today). With other things on my mind on the way home, I didn't notice that the light hadn't come back on. But this morning, I sure noticed it wasn't on. I waited for it to come on, and waited for it to come on, and hey look, here I am at my exit and it still hasn't come on...huh?
So I headed to the shop and went in to tell the girl the light hadn't come back on, and to offer to pay for whatever time the mechanic had spent on it Friday. She was as baffled as I as running the computer diagnostic shouldn't logically have done anything more than diagnose a problem, much less fix it. When I offered to pay, she told me there was no charge for what he had done. (Yay!) Of course if it comes back on without provocation (as in I'm just driving along minding my business with the tire pressure correct and no punctures), I'll be calling them again.
*Technically, I drive an SUV, but it's easier to write/say car.
**Tire bought through TireRack.com by DH. It's not the same brand as the others on my vehicle, but is the same size and is probably a better tire. The shop I am going to was their local recommended dealer. I wouldn't have thought to go there otherwise, but it's this great family run place where the dad runs the back and his daughter runs the front. I'll probably try to go back for oil changes and any other issues, just because they've been so great about trying to get this little issue diagnosed before throwing money at new parts that may not be needed. It's also the closest repair shop to my work, which totally rocks.
Blowing out the tire on my car* caused the sensor for the tire-pressure system to activate and light the symbol on the dash. It's a cryptic thing - like two book ended parenthesis with a squiggly line under a circle sitting between them - with a steady orange light telling me hey dummy, pay attention, I've got an issue you need to deal with ASAP.
After the spare tire was installed by the roadside assistance guy, I followed the reset instructions in the manual and after 15-17 highway miles, it came back on. Same thing after the replacement tire was installed on the original rim at the shop.** That time it didn't come back on until my morning commute - but only because I had to run some errands and took back roads home instead of the highway. That day I went back to the shop and they checked the tire pressure to confirm it was okay, and reset the button, you know, just in case I hadn't been able to properly follow directions.
That stubborn light kept coming on, and stayed on once I stopped making an effort to reset it. It was like that little boy who cried wolf, I finally just stopped paying attention to it. After a couple of weeks, I got fed up and called the shop to make an appointment to have a trained monkey (no offense to any mechanics or relatives of mechanics who may be out there; I personally am a lab rat when it comes to auto maintenance) take a look at it on Friday.
With one thing and another, although I had my car at the shop before 8AM on Friday, the only mechanic at the shop with electrical training didn't get to looking at my car until the afternoon. Frustrating, right? Apparently he didn't have time to really get into more than running the system diagnostic a couple of times to the same result: no codes popped up to tell him what was going on.
Since I wanted the car over the weekend, and more importantly didn't have a ride home, I picked the car up from the shop and drove home, with plans to return it first thing Monday (today). With other things on my mind on the way home, I didn't notice that the light hadn't come back on. But this morning, I sure noticed it wasn't on. I waited for it to come on, and waited for it to come on, and hey look, here I am at my exit and it still hasn't come on...huh?
So I headed to the shop and went in to tell the girl the light hadn't come back on, and to offer to pay for whatever time the mechanic had spent on it Friday. She was as baffled as I as running the computer diagnostic shouldn't logically have done anything more than diagnose a problem, much less fix it. When I offered to pay, she told me there was no charge for what he had done. (Yay!) Of course if it comes back on without provocation (as in I'm just driving along minding my business with the tire pressure correct and no punctures), I'll be calling them again.
*Technically, I drive an SUV, but it's easier to write/say car.
**Tire bought through TireRack.com by DH. It's not the same brand as the others on my vehicle, but is the same size and is probably a better tire. The shop I am going to was their local recommended dealer. I wouldn't have thought to go there otherwise, but it's this great family run place where the dad runs the back and his daughter runs the front. I'll probably try to go back for oil changes and any other issues, just because they've been so great about trying to get this little issue diagnosed before throwing money at new parts that may not be needed. It's also the closest repair shop to my work, which totally rocks.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Date Night - On the Cheap (To Us)
As I've mentioned, we don't go out very often. Even less now that DH and I work in opposite directions from home. It doesn't help that the closest restaurants aren't all that close.
So, last night was a rare exception. We not only went out to dinner, we also caught a movie. In the opposite order.
And it only cost us $7.00
Yes, you read that correctly - the two of us saw a first run movie and we ate dinner at a sit-down restaurant for all of $7 out of pocket.
How you ask?
Simple - combine one free ticket offer (thanks to a movie set we might have purchased anyway), with a hoarded gift certificate to the movie theatre, and we ended up $1 richer.
Dinner was thanks to another gift certificate that was enough to not only cover the entire bill but also a bit of the tip - the remainder of which was $8.00.
So that's how we had a very nice evening out for less than I spent at lunch yesterday.
Outstanding.
(For those who are interested, we saw "Underworld: Rise of The Lycans" and ate dinner at Outback. Both of which rate an 'eh' from me, so I'm just as happy to have only spent a tenth of the actual cost.)
So, last night was a rare exception. We not only went out to dinner, we also caught a movie. In the opposite order.
And it only cost us $7.00
Yes, you read that correctly - the two of us saw a first run movie and we ate dinner at a sit-down restaurant for all of $7 out of pocket.
How you ask?
Simple - combine one free ticket offer (thanks to a movie set we might have purchased anyway), with a hoarded gift certificate to the movie theatre, and we ended up $1 richer.
Dinner was thanks to another gift certificate that was enough to not only cover the entire bill but also a bit of the tip - the remainder of which was $8.00.
So that's how we had a very nice evening out for less than I spent at lunch yesterday.
Outstanding.
(For those who are interested, we saw "Underworld: Rise of The Lycans" and ate dinner at Outback. Both of which rate an 'eh' from me, so I'm just as happy to have only spent a tenth of the actual cost.)
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Am feeling better now, thank you.
Apparently the Vogons decided to move on to their next victim.
Am now exhausted (shoveling several tons of crush-n-run and top soil over the weekend can do that to a girl, plus late night due to below event) and contemplated calling into work tired today.
DH was in a neighborhood meeting from 6:30pm to 10:30pm last night. WTF is going on in the neighborhood that they needed to spend 4 hours discussing it at every meeting? And without him having a chance to eat dinner before? It's OK for those retired guys who eat at 5, but he didn't get home until 6:25 and then had to turn around and go to the meeting. Let me tell you, my feathers are ruffled on this!
Also in slightly cool and exciting news: I won two tickets to the Fountains of Wayne Concert this Sunday night at the Norva. I responded on a whim to the email sent out by the radio station and lo and behold...later in the day a email came back that I had won the tickets. Not sure if DH and I are going to go yet. Would appreciate any arguments for DH and I going? Or does anyone have a great argument to go with if DH doesn't want to go?
Am now exhausted (shoveling several tons of crush-n-run and top soil over the weekend can do that to a girl, plus late night due to below event) and contemplated calling into work tired today.
DH was in a neighborhood meeting from 6:30pm to 10:30pm last night. WTF is going on in the neighborhood that they needed to spend 4 hours discussing it at every meeting? And without him having a chance to eat dinner before? It's OK for those retired guys who eat at 5, but he didn't get home until 6:25 and then had to turn around and go to the meeting. Let me tell you, my feathers are ruffled on this!
Also in slightly cool and exciting news: I won two tickets to the Fountains of Wayne Concert this Sunday night at the Norva. I responded on a whim to the email sent out by the radio station and lo and behold...later in the day a email came back that I had won the tickets. Not sure if DH and I are going to go yet. Would appreciate any arguments for DH and I going? Or does anyone have a great argument to go with if DH doesn't want to go?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
